Making A Comeback

{Gabe knocks a shot back, but takes a tumble. Tahno uses the chance to pelt her with ice balls. Tirea is knocked back to Zone 3. She gets back to her feet & shoots back, but Ming seems unfazed, dodging wide shots with minimal effort.}
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R"Well...maybe we can go see if we can help Ven. She can do some good for them in the next round."

*Tirea growls and sends several arcs at Ming*

<You don't have anything to say for yourselves?!>

"Yeah," Astarte said. "I could heal her I suppose."

They continued a little way down the street, crossed the road, then sent Stefan to try peeking through a window.

Gabe extends a hand and uses Jet Propulsion to launch back the ice balls. She uses another Jet Propulsion aimed behind her to keep herself from being pushed back a zone by her own maneuver.

--

Noct sits there and watches, displeasure written on her face.

Tahno<Sorry, I don't talk to losers!>

{Shazou hits Tirea with an illegal headshot that, coupled with another illegal ring icing maneuver, sends her into the drink, and removes any doubt that the round will go to the Wolfbats. A controversial call, to be sure.}

*Ven fishes Tirea out of the drink & they take the lift to reunite with Gabe. In the stands, the Wolfbat fans are making distinctive howls, as Tahno & the others wave at them, their backs to the Dragons, waiting for the next round to start. Part of Tirea's visor has been melted off.*
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E"It looks like they're going in for another round, though."
===============================
*All of the windows are obscured by dark curtains, so.*

*Tirea bends the water out of her clothes, then stares straight ahead*

"This isn't fair," Mortal said. "This is match fixing! Can't they sue for that or something."

"Normally, no, they may have a case here though, as money is on the line. Money directly tied to the match, and not part of any kind of side bets. I'd say it'd be an easy case to prove as well."

--

"Guys, do you even want to keep playing?" Gabe asked, "There is a very likely chance we might get hurt, and I don't want to see any of you in danger..."

*Euryale folds her arms & watches the scene grimly.*

E"The Council really doesn't like to get involved in Pro-Bending. Even if you could get them something, they would still be considered the losers of the match. Tahno might also try to get them blacklisted."

R"So, you can't do anything?"

E"I can arrest one of them if they make an unambiguous move of assault with attempt to bodily harm--such as generating a lightning bolt, or firing an ice spike directly at someone's chest. So I hope you'll understand if I say I hope I don't have to arrest anyone."
===================================
V"How can I just give up after coming this far?"

Gabe nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry, I'm just..." She shook her head, "Never mind, lets do this." Gabe readied herself for the start of the next round.

--

"I wouldn't have to get involved that way," Noct said, "I'm a lawyer, even if I didn't take the case directly it could still be taken by someone else in the firm."

Mortal shook her head, "Euryale is right. They'd still be the losers."

"You're arguing about pride, I'm more interested in making sure they get the yuan they deserve."

Astarte was also looking displeased now and said quietly, "Should we go down now in case someone gets hurt? To the locker room, I mean."

Stefan came back and they looked for neighbouring establishments which might be open.

*Tirea gets ready as well, with a look of anger on her face*

*Tahno runs forward, fist enveloped in water. Ven barely dodges the uppercut, then turns & smashes him in the face with her elbow, breaking his visor & knocking him back a zone.*

<Foul! Move back a zone!>

*Ven quite angrily gestures towards Tahno & the ref.*

"They've been doing that for half of the game! Are you blind, or just stupid?!"

*She angrily takes the penalty when he flashes a yellow fan at her.*

{Tahno tries to clean Ven's clock with some dirty waterboxing, but she gets fed up & evens the score, dealing a vicious blow that knocks Tahno back a zone. The ref finally spots a violation, but it doesn't look like that's going to become a pattern, as Shazou lets loose with a flamethrower on his other 2 opponents. Meanwhile, it looks like Tahno & Ming are up to more shenanigans.}

*Ming is holding his hands behind his back while Tahno bends some water from the grates & snatches whatever Ming is holding. Tahno looks mighty pissed as his eye is starting to bruise.*
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E"Well...we'll see what they want?"

R"Why are we talking like they've already lost?"
==================================
*There are a bunch of houses/apartments.*

*Tirea rolls out of the way and pulls a massive amount of water from the grates behind her, then launches it at Shazou*

Gabe rolls out of the way as well, and a massive blast at Shazou's leg, hoping to break it with a legal move, and have him removed from the game.

--

"Because cheaters usually win," Noct said, "That is why it isn't fair."

{Looks like the match is getting dirtier. Gabe sends a large volume of flame at Shazou's leg. He looks pretty beat up, but he shakily rises to his feet, only to be knocked into the drink by Tirea. Meanwhile, Ming flings a disc at Gabe's injured leg while Tahno--oh, this has gone too far! That water had rocks in it!}

*Ven tumbles, but manages to grab the edge of the ring just before she falls.*

{Ven is still in the game, but just--no, wait, I spoke too soon. Tahno once again sneaks in a little ice to get the edge.}
=================================
R"Doesn't mean they WILL. Look, Shazou got knocked out, & one of Tahno's shots missed. He's probably having trouble with coordination since Ven hit him in the face."

E"They ARE technically winning this round, if they can just hold out for about a minute."

"How can they cheat so obviously? Even if they paid the referee, aren't there higher up people that might not want to have the tournament's reputation trashed?" Astarte said.

They looked for people walking about the street, and would approach one if there. Preferably somebody coming out of a home.

*Tirea jumps and kicks to send three arcs at Ming*

Gabe felt herself becoming sick at all of this, it reminded her of the time after her first injury, and how the love of the game had dried away. She really didn't know if she wanted to win if it meant stooping to actually injuring her opponents. When Ven was blasted however she steeled herself again, just in time to take a disk to the knee which sent her sprawling. She got back up, favoring her injured knee, and fired a .7 second long stream of fire at Tahno, paused for a fraction of a second, then fired another stream of that length. Both streams were directed at his chest but she was really hoping to light his stupid hair on fire like a wick.

--

Mortal shook her head, "I love a good brawl as much as the next gal, but that just isn't what Pro-bending is about. This is getting out of hand."

"Our side isn't breaking any rules," Noct pointed out.

"Barely..."

{Ming pelts Tirea out of the air sending her back a Zone, but Tahno is unable to avoid a few streams from Gabe that send him back to Zone 3, securing this round for the Dancing Dragons.}

*There is a little flame on the tip of his hair, which he puts out by pinching, snarling at the Dragons as they get back into position.*

{Looks like this next round will decide who gets the championship! Right out of the gate, Tahno sweeps Ven to the side with an arc of water. Shazou knocks off her helmet with another illegal headshot. Additionally, it looks like they're trying to knock her over the side. Still no call on either foul. Ming punches the ground, causing several discs in the Dragons' Zone to break apart, sending rocks all over the place, which Tahno also ices over. I'm getting a little tired of being the only one to point out the cheating, here.}
==============================
E"People higher up? You mean, like the Wolfbats' sponsors? And I agree with Mortal. The spirit of the rules is just as important as the letter. Maybe more so."

R"Yeah, well, no one seems to care about either right now. Besides, how else are they going to compete?"
==============================
*No one comes out. They actually catch a few glimpses of people locking their doors & watching from their curtains.*

*Tirea creates a water shield, then jumps and sends a stream at Ming*

Gabe tries to repeat her attack from before, but adds a large burst of force at the end of each stream. She sends two of those into Ming's chest.

--

"I agree with Roatha," Noct said, "You do what you have to do to win. It is just adapting. Anyway, I think she meant like a governing body for Pro-Bending."

E"Not really. The council of referees determines all of the rules that they enforce. And those that aren't in on this would have a hard time disputing these calls, since they weren't actually here."

*Euryale starts staring at Noctis.*

E"That sounds a lot like what Senthose keeps saying to us."
===================================
{It looks like Ming is going to be sent back a Zone, but Tahno raises a wall of water to keep him in. Now freed up, Ven takes a shot at him, but he dodges. Tirea & Gabe have trouble keeping their footing, so Tahno & Shazou each fire shots at their opposite element. Ming looks like he's breaking more discs, but what does he plan to do with them?}

"If I was like Senthose I would be rooting for the Wolfbats. I'm just saying, when backed into a corner, using everything that the rules allow you to do is going to come in handy," Noct said, "I'm not saying Tirea should go all blood bender, and Gabe should set their faces on fire."

--

Gabe dodges out of the way, but stumbles a bit when she tries to get back to her feet. To compensate she sends another long stream of fire at Tahno.

Astarte sat quietly again.

They left the street, heading to the next bar they knew of.

*Tirea also dodges, and moves into a more stable stance before firing a few shots at Shazou*